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Texas Department of Insurance fines Zenefits $550,000

The Texas Department of Insurance has fined YourPeople, Inc., more commonly known as Zenefits, $550,000 for using unlicensed staff to sell and administer insurance plans from 2014 through late 2015. Zenefits has since come into compliance with state law and is using staff licensed in Texas for insurance transactions in the state.

The Texas fine and order follow a months-long investigation into the business practices of the California-based company, which provides online human resources and benefits services. While the company’s owner was licensed in Texas, employees who were actually selling and administering insurance plans were not licensed.

The Texas investigation found Zenefits earned $1.6 million in commissions on Texas transactions from January 1, 2014, through November 20, 2015, using unlicensed staff.

The steps Zenefits took to come into compliance with state law included:

Dismissing its former CEO and creating a compliance team.

Confirming that all employees who could potentially do insurance business in Texas are licensed.

Implementing new controls to ensure that transactions are handled only by employees with the required license.